Lips Of Faith - Clutch Collabeeration | New Belgium Brewing

Notes / Commercial Description:
This pleasing, two-part, potion was brewed with chocolate and black malts for a rich and roasty overtone, then fused with a dry, substratum of sour for a bold and audacious flavor. Black as night, this beer is blended at 80% stout, 20% dark sour wood beer for a collaboration that begins with a sour edge and finishes with a big, dark malt character, lingering, sweet on your palate.

Reviews by bigaltemple:

Deep, dark brown, almost black brew fills my New Belgium globe. Thick caramel-colored head sits atop. This settles to a pancake batter cap providing some good lacing. Smells of roasted dark malts with hints of coffee. A gentle swirl brings out some chocolate and sour fruit/cherries.

Taste is at first roasted sweetness that immediately turns to bitter chocolate and dark coffee. Some of the fruit plays in the background giving the tongue plenty to think about. A sour creaminess coats the palate.

Quite enjoyed this brew, which is good considering how excited I was for it to hit shelves. The Lips of Faith Series comes through again. Kind of interested to see any development or changes in this one after giving it some time.

For the record, my favorite Clutch songs are Animal Farm and The Soapmakers

More User Reviews:

Poured jet black into a stemmed Fat Tire glass with a 1/2 finger khaki colored head atop.Chocolate and dark roast coffee aromas are really nice,a hint of sour cherry in the background.Creamy in the mouth,it has almost a nitro dispensed feel to it.Chocolate malts and roast flavors are the main components to the flavors with that light sourness coming thru as I drank more but it really never becomes to much.I liked this beer alot,the sour flavors are not overly big and the chocolate flavors really stood out.
A great collaberation with my favorite band!

The beer pours a dark brown color with a tan head. The aroma is full of chocolate, cocoa and roasted malt, with a little bit of sourness. It smells fairly stout like, with only a slight amount of tartness present.

The flavor is similar. The two dominant flavors are chocolate and roasted malt, but there is also a little bit of tart cherries and a little bit of smoke. The tartness/sourness is well hidden but does add something to the overall flavor.

Pours black with tannish head that quickly disappears. The nose presents a very odd bouquet so to speak. It wants to be a sour, but falls just short of tart. There is a hint of the fruitiness/funk going on, but enough that it interferes with the roasty/chocolate notes they were going for. Overall, a bit disappointed with this beer.

This beer is aaamazing. I love Clutch, but I really don't think it's pivotal to my opinion. I'm not uber into sours, but this beer is the right amount of column A column B for me!!
Pours with a great head, that dissipates significantly, but leaves about a half inch of head. Pours just short of the opacity of your typical porter.
I get cherry, chocolate, touch of coffee and lactic acid in the nose.
Taste is sublime. Love this stuff! All NB sours I've tried are way sour... I admittedly am not a sour buff. This is, to me, the apex example of a mix between sour cherry and mocha, put super-simply. Seems oak aged, but not sure that it is, woody character. I don't know what it means for a 'sour stout' to be balanced but, till further debunked, this is the standard.
Mouthfeel is moderate, not thin but less than syrupy, carbonation is where I want it to be.
This beer was more than I wanted. Clutch, you hypnotize me again. New Belgium, there's hope for us yet.

Near black in color with a thin khaki colored head. Dots of lacing spot the glass.

Noticeable sour acidity is present in the aroma along with a mild roast and chocolate character, though there's nothing particularly grabbing.

Roasted malt and a hint of chocolate make for a simple, basic stout. The sour tartness presents itself on the finish but is not overly powerful. This beer is more stout than sour, and not especially good at being either.

Medium bodied with ample carbonation.

An average and acceptable attempt at the style. After having The Bruery's Tart of Darkness however, this pales in comparison.

Poured from 22 oz. bottle into a Surly Darkness Chalice glass while listening to Clutch.

Appearance: Pours dark and black with only a slight hint of brownish red on the edges. Decent two fingers of tan head that fade into a thin ring on the edges of the glass. Moderate amount of lacing.

Smell: Moderately tart and sour dark cherries with some wood, brett, and a light hint of vinegar. Big presence of dark roasted malts with good hints of dark chocolate and coffee beans. Quite an interesting combination.

Taste: A very interesting and tasty brew. It literally tastes like a imperial stout mixed with a wild ale. The sour cherries and woody/bretty characteristics are quite noticeable but are not as strong as a normal wild ale. The dark elements kind of overshadow it, but in a good way. Big flavor of dark roasted malts with hints of chocolate and coffee. Pretty good.

Mouthfeel: Medium to heavy body with a moderate level of carbonation. Creamy and very smooth. No noticeable alcohol heat. Finishes somewhat dry.

Overall: A pretty wild and interesting take on a wild ale. The dark flavors blend pretty well with the sourness. I love the creativity here.

Pours out a cloudy dark brown. Almost nonexistant head to it. Aroma was muddled, lacked any sour aspect to it. Roasted malt notes were faint and leaning sweet, like a milk stout as opposed to one as strong as this.

Taste, whoa, where's the sour? You said this was a sour stout? Really? Have you have Tart of Darkness? This pales in comparison. Heck, this isn't in Magdura Obscura territory. Minorly sour, decent stout still, but jeez, the sour aspect of this is very minimal.

Hides the alcohol quite well, a little thin in the mouthfeel for a stout of this level, but keeps it plenty easy to drink. Lots of wood, less chocolate and coffee to it. No bitterness, which was kinda strange.

On tap at Downtown Drafts in Gainesville GA.
Opaque and essentially black body with a rather weak head, ruby highlights at the edge, and a modicum of lacing.
Sweet and sour aroma with hints of ripe soft fruits and chocolate.
Moderately strong and sour flavor that is also mildly bitter. Some dark fruit notes with chocolate, but the tartness is more obvious.
Overall: excellent for style (allowing for a sour stout style).